Shane Palko brushed thick, red dust off of a cloth guitar bag and unzipped a side pocket to see how many Ugandan Shillings were left. They exchanged so weakly into Tanzanian Shillings that he’d be surprised if there would be enough to get to his concert at the Slow Leopard in Dar Es Salaam. Having performed live on Voice of America (US), NTV (Uganda), and VTC10 (Vietnam) as well as at official concerts and festivals in 28 countries and counting, he knows what it’s like to be stuck at the end of a rugged road.
The morning after his concert at The Slow Leopard, he hitched a ride back downtown on a truck, piled full of pineapples. While waiting on some paperwork to come through before continuing his tour in South Africa, Palko accepted an invitation from a stranger in the street and found himself standing on top of a beautiful skyscraper, overlooking the bustling Dar seaport. There were a few men there, in finely-pressed suits. Palko wondered if his cutoff shorts and explicitly feminist t-shirt, still soaked with sweat from the previous night’s show, might disqualify him from such an establishment.
“You’re the music man, aren’t you?” said a kind and confident voice. Palko was surprised at the recognition. “I am Mendrad Kigola, Member of the Tanzanian Parliament. I dream of helping my people make their music.”
A year and a half later, Palko and Zuli Tums, a renowned Ugandan Producer, jumped on a jet to Tanzania. Zuli carved out two and a half weeks to sneak away from Volume Up Studio in Kempala, and Shane worked the time into the middle of a tour schedule. Zuli carried a backpack full of mobile recording equipment, and Palko a La Patrie hybrid classical guitar.
They hatched an ambitious plan with MP Kigola. In a sort of musical sharrett, they would cross much of Tanzania together, recording music for people that don’t have access to professional recording studios. While traversing the country and helping people record their own material, Palko found himself writing and recording an entire album of his own, the forthcoming, transcendent Swahili Surreal.
Swahili Surreal does not claim to be representative of traditional Tanzanian music, but rather chronicles Palko’s personal experience – a hauntingly intricate finger-dance across a classical guitar to accompany both the physical and spiritual journey Palko and his companions had embarked upon. Collaboration being a part of the process, some of the songs on Swahili Surreal feature other voices, like Wazzy, a staple in the Tanzanian scene. This recording foray was the beginning of a dream. In addition to providing people with quality recordings of their own music, Swahili Surreal will be internationally distributed, with all profits from the album going towards the construction of a recording studio in Mafinga, Tanzania.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the music video for the album’s lead single, “Metamorphosis of a Dream.” While the song is unique in many ways, it is the way that it showcases the vocals of the thirty-strong Saint Monica Singers, who previously had never set foot in a recording studio, that perhaps stands out the most. Blending Palko’s own style of psychedelic and meditative folk with a range of Tanzanian musical influences, the song is a sort of tribute to the culture that he has soaked up as a musician. The video, which provides a snapshot of life, adds to the peaceful, dreamy mood of the song. Wazzy, who lends his own almost spiritual vocals, embellishes the music with an otherworldly sense.
“‘Metamorphosis of a Dream’ is a concept that the dream turns into a plan and then turns into a memory, much like how a caterpillar turns into a chrysalis and then a butterfly,” says Palko. “And there’s a tremendous amount of work between each stage. For me, it’s easy to dream about playing a big show on the other side of the world, but if I don’t make a plan, I won’t ever get to do the thing, and if I don’t do the thing, I won’t have a memory. And life is just a string of memories, happening at the same time.”
WATCH:
Photo credit: Teresa Mejia
One Response
This song really is telling and teach us to have tream in our lives in order to get success and to be rich.